Kabimba said in an interview that he was going to sue the Electoral Commission of Zambia for disregarding the 2016 High Court judgement ordering the commission be the institution in charge of validating certificates of aspiring election candidates instead of the Examination Council of Zambia.

“We have an issue with the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Every little political party is glossing over this issue until they get caught up in it in 2021, and that is the issue of validation of certificates. Our position is that there is a high court judgement which was delivered I think in May or June in 2016 and it was in the case of Sibongile Zulu versus the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission of Zambia. And in that case, the judge made it very clear that is not right for candidates to be getting their certificates validated by the Examination Council of Zambia. That job is an administrative job for the Electoral Commission of Zambia” Kabimba said.

Kabimba said that the Examination Council and the Electoral Commission were both stealing from poor citizens.
“In other words, the Examination Council of Zambia is stealing money from Zambian citizens that are standing as candidates, in collaboration with the Electoral Commission of Zambia. And these are poor people that even can’t afford a meal, and you are saying that you are promoting democracy in this country? democracy intells that the poor and the rich must participate in the affairs of their country. In the meantime, you are putting in place rules that have been outlawed by the high court, to discriminate against the poor people,” Kabimba said.

“We have written letters to the Electoral Commission of Zambia to say to them, ‘you didn’t appeal, you were a party to this game, Sibongile Zulu versus the Attorney General, the Electoral Commission of Zambia’, ‘So if you didn’t appeal, you must abide by the judgement.’ They have been dilly-dallying in giving us a clear answer. What we want to do now is [to] take the Electoral Commission of Zambia to court for contempt of Court.

So we are not an opportunistic party. This is not about just participating in an election, it is to ensure that the electoral process in which we are participating does not discriminate against any citizen of this country, poor or rich.”

Kabimba however wondered how the electoral commission was failing to implement its own set rules.

“And this issue was agreed in 2016 and we all agreed, the political parties that are participating agreed that the Electoral Commission of Zambia that the validation of certificates should be done at the Electoral Commission of Zambia and everybody now has glossed over that agreement. And yet the Examination Council of Zambia does not even have the capacity when it comes to presidential and general elections to validate certificates for over 10, 000 candidates, if you look at councillors up to members of parliament. You have more than 10, 000 candidates, [but Examination Council of Zambia ] does not have the capacity. In 2016, people were spending nights at the Examination Council of Zambia getting their certificates validated. So you are putting rules in place when you do not even have the capacity to deal with those rules or to implement those rules. So for us as Rainbow party, we have an issue with the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Examination Council of Zambia, and we want this issue to be resolved, that is the reason,” said Kabimba

Glencore, the majority owners of Mopani Mines has been ordered to hand over documents and records to US regulators related to its operations in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela dating as far back as 2007, sending its shares tumbling 12 per cent.

The Swiss-based mining and trading group led by billionaire Ivan Glasenberg said on Tuesday that it had received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice to produce documents with respect to compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and US money laundering statutes.

The records related to the company’s activities in Nigeria, Venezuela and the DRC.

“Glencore is reviewing the subpoena and will provide further information in due course as appropriate,” the company said.

Glencore is the world’s biggest commodities trader, shifting millions of tonnes of metals, minerals and oil across the globe.

The company prides itself on operating in jurisdictions where many of its rivals fear to tread such as the DRC, Africa’s biggest copper producer and home to significant deposits of cobalt.

Traders noted that the DoJ subpoena comes just weeks after Glencore settled a dispute with Dan Gertler, its former business partner in the DRC.

Glencore said it would pay Mr Gertler in Euros so as to not fall foul of US sanctions, which were placed on the Israeli billionaire last year for his “opaque and corrupt mining deals” in the DRC.

At the time Glencore said it did not believe it was necessary to apply for a licence from the US government to pay Mr Gertler because no US person or the US financial system would be involved in the transactions.

It also claimed it has discussed the royalty payments, which it stopped paying in December, with the appropriate authorities in US and Switzerland, where the company has its headquarters.

However, the move unnerved investors and analysts who said the deal would test Washington’s resolve over sanctioned individuals. On the same day Glencore announced its deal with Mr Gertler, the US Treasury department placed sanctions on 14 companies with ties to the Israeli businessman, including the vehicle that will receive the royalty payments from Glencore.

The DoJ subpoena is the latest in a string of problems to hit Glencore this year.

In addition to its legal fight with Mr Gertler, it also agreed to write off $5.6bn of debt in a joint venture with Gecamines, the DRC’s state mining, to end another legal dispute.

The company could also face a bribery probe by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office over its ties to Mr Gertler.

Global Witness, a campaign group, said: “Holding Glencore accountable is a huge step in global accountability more generally. It would set a precedent for companies all over the world who, in many cases, are able to act with impunity in regards to the world’s mineral wealth.”

In early trading on Tuesday, Glencore shares were down 12 per cent to 303p, wiping more than £5bn off its market capitalisation, which now stands at £45bn.
“There is not enough detail in the release to understand exactly what the investigation holds, however with the subpoena covering multiple countries, this would indicate that there is a relatively thorough investigation at hand,” said Tyler Broda, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

“The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act appears at first investigation to provide subject to sanctions, fines and penalties up to $25m or twice the gain or loss caused by the violation and imprisonment for up to 5 years per occurrence,” added Mr Broda.

The Youths on the Copperbelt are extremely disappointed with the continued use of barbaric and thuggery language by UPND vice president Mr Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba.

Mr Mwamba yesterday on Monday appeared on a program dubbed the Oxygen of Democracy where he found it very comfortable to use words that do not inspire. Just the use of insulting language on any platform, is unZambian, unChristian and is unacceptable and not inspiring to the Zambian youths.

As youths on the Copperbelt, we expect all those who aspire into leadership to inspire others when they appear on public platforms to sell their ideologies. What is now common is the manner in which senior leaders from some opposition parties can find pleasure in using insulting language. What lessons can we learn from Mr Mwamba who wants to stand as vice president of this nation as a running mate to Mr HH, can boost openly and use words that do not want to inspire many Zambians? We live it to the Zambian people to Judge.

Mr Mwamba who is the vice president of a big opposition party should by any means try to inspire the young people to join politics. Unfortunately with his language, he is creating an impression that politics is about insults and vulgar language .

We as youths on the Copperbelt we will not condone such kind of language coming from a top leader.

Further, we feel Mr Mwamba should be the least person to talk about violence. Why do we say so, first, Mr Mwamba is violent himself by his message. Violence for Mr Mwamba starts from his home, his work place and spread to his workers. Who does not know that Mr Mwamba is a violent man? Records are there for anyone to see that he is Mr Violence from his home and workers! So we don’t expect him to be speaking the loudest when he is a subject of violence. No wonder he is now the developer of the ‘Panga for Panga’ theory in UPND. He is busy promoting violence.

As youths on the Copperbelt, we want to make it clear that his theory of Panga for Panga should remain at his home. We will not allow violence on the Copperbelt.

We want Mr Mwamba to learn from President Edgar Lungu who has openly condemned any acts of violence in the country. The President has told us not to be involved in any form of violence.

Issued by:

Nathan Chanda

PF Copperbelt Youth Chairman

Recently, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe told Parliament that Government is planning to sign a Statutory Instrument to regulate bank charges.

Mrs. Mwanakatwe said Government is aware of the high over-the-counter charges that are levied on withdrawals for amounts above the limits dispensed by automated teller machines (ATMs).

But Association Spokesperson and Administration Officer Mirriam Zimba said in an interview that such plans would go against the Competition and Consumer Protection Act.

Ms Zimba said the Zambian Competition Law is also in conformity with other continental and global treaties which the country cannot easily walk away from.

She also stated that it would be important that the Bankers Association of Zambia is consulted before such legislation is passed.

“Clearly we are the major stakeholder in this process and it would be important that we are fully consulted,” Ms Zimba said.

She also advised the public to shop around for a bank with lower prices that suit their pockets instead of complaining about high charges.

She said the pricing of products for each bank is usually based on the cost of their infrastructure.

Ms. Zimba said the Zambian banking sector has around 17 commercial banks and a bouquet of products, giving clients options to pick the best offer that perfectly suit their pockets.

UPND President Hakainde Hichilema has maintained that party members should be able to defend themselves when attacked by PF cadres.

Mr Hichilema’s was widely condemned when he first made the call last week by some PF officials including President Edgar Lungu who accused him of fermenting violence.

But he has stressed that only those that those in the habit of attacking the innocent are worried by the notion that citizens should defend themselves.

Mr Hichilema was speaking on Sunday when he along with his Vice President Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba and several other senior party officials attended the the Gonde Lwiindi ceremony.

He told the gathering that when attacked by those who are at variance with divergent views and democracy, citizens must stand up and defend both themselves and their rights.

“As stated by many, self defence is a constitutional and fundamental human right and only those in the habit of attacking the innocent are worried by the notion that citizens should defend themselves,” he explained.

Mr Hichilema also called for unity and peace in order to drive development for all Zambians.

He also called for viable agriculture and economic activities but that all these are only possible when there is no one attacking those who have contrary opinions or indeed better views.